Stocks erase 2026 gains as tech and crypto continue to slide; volatility rises
Investors continued to shun risk amid rising volatility.
The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Russell 2000 all fell on Thursday. The benchmark index is now officially negative for the year. The VIX, Wall Street’s fear gauge, climbed above 20. Every sector fell except for defensive sectors utilities and consumer staples.
Bitcoin set new cycle lows, and altcoins XRP, solana, dogecoin, and chainlink revisited levels not seen in several years. Silver also resumed its slide.
Stocks that moved higher:
Broadcom rose as it enjoyed a halo effect from Google’s plans to spend up to $185 billion on capex this year.
Arm Holdings rose after reporting solid results and a cheery outlook as investors appeared to shake off the implications of Qualcomm’s weak guidance.
Nio charged higher as the EV maker projected its first-ever quarterly profit in its fourth quarter.
Cigna rose as its Q4 results beat Wall Street estimates, though its 2026 guidance underwhelmed.
Stocks that moved lower:
Qualcomm tumbled after releasing gloomy Q2 guidance.
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly dropped as Hims & Hers will offer copies of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill at $49 a month for starting doses.
Retail favorites and high-beta momentum stocks took a dive, including Palantir, AST SpaceMobile, Rocket Lab, and quantum computing trades D-Wave Quantum and Rigetti Computing.
Snap slid despite reporting a surprise profit beat in yesterday’s Q4 earnings results, though its daily active users fell.
Despite reporting an earnings beat after the bell yesterday, investors reacted negatively Alphabet’s huge capex plans. Many analysts, however, raised their price targets.
e.l.f. Beauty dipped despite reporting a Q3 earnings beat after the bell yesterday.
Blue Owl Capital ticked lower despite reporting Q4 sales and earnings above estimates.
IonQ fell after Wolfpack Research released a short report alleging the company has lost funding for key Pentagon contracts.
Peloton plunged after reporting a greater-than-expected loss, lower-than-expected revenue, and falling subscription numbers in its Q2 earnings this morning.
